Folding bed.



PATENTED JUNE 14,1904.

G. C. FULLER.

FOLDING BED.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1903.

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PATENTED JUNE 14, 1904.

c. FULLER. FOLDING BED.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1903.

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"No. 762,699. I PATENTED JUNE 14,1904.

G. G. FULLER.

FOLDING BED.

APPLICATION IILED JULY 25. 1903.

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WITNESSES. 17V VENTOR.

TNE NDRBIS PETERS CO, PHOTO-LUNG" WASHINGTQM D C A ttorneys.

Patented June 14, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GAIUS C. FULLER, OF OWOSSO, MICHIGAN.

FOLDING BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,699, dated June 14,1904.

Application filed July 25, 1903. SerialNo. 166,926. No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Guns C. FULLER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Owosso, in the county of Shiawassee and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FoldingBeds, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvementsin folding beds, and especially tobeds constructed of metal; and its object is to provide a simple andcheap construction having few parts and which may be easily folded intoa small space.

It is also an object of the invention to provide the device with certainother new and useful features and the particular construction andcombination of parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is aperspective View of a device embodying the invention; Fig. 2, a sideelevation of the same, showing in full lines the bed partly folded andin dotted lines in its open and folded positions. Fig. 3 is an enlargeddetail showing a section of the foot of the bed-frame andspring-mattress and also the means for locking the foot end to therails. Fig. at is a section on the line :0 w of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a detailshowing the head end of the mattress-frame in section; Fig. 6, the same,showing the catch for locking the parts; Fig. 7, a detail showing asection through one of the bed-rails adjacent to its point of attachmentto the head bed end and showing said end in elevation. Fig. 8 is a sideelevation of a modified construction, and Fig. 9 is an enlarged detailof the construction shown in Fig. 8.

As shown in the drawings, 1 and 2 are the head and the foot bed ends,respectively, and 3 the side rails, said rails being formed ofangle-iron and connected at their ends by angle-iron cross-bars 4: toform a rectangular bed-frame 5 to receive and support the coiledwiremattress or bed-spring 6. The head end 1 is provided with a base portion7 to the cross-bar 8 of which the bed-frame 5 is pivotally secured bythe straps 9, embracing the cross-bar and secured to the under side of aflat bar 10, extending across the frame and secured to the under side ofthe side rails. Coiled springs 11 are sleeved on the bar 8 and engagethe rails to exert a force to turn the frame upon said bar to an uprightposition.

To prevent the forward end of the mattress and bedding which lie uponthe spring-mattress 6 from coming into contact with the head end andpreventing the folding of the bed as the bed is raised or lowered, thespring mattress is slid longitudinally of the bedframe away from thehead end as the frame is turned, carrying the bedding, &c., with it.Each side bar 12 of the mattress-frame is provided with a hole near itshead end and extending across the frame, and through these holes andthrough slots 13 in the side rails 3 is a rod 14:, which is bent atright angles after passing through the side rails and pivotally securedat each end to the upright posts of the head end at such a point thatwhen the bed-frame is turned on its pivot the rod will be forced to moveoutward in the slots 13 as the head of the bed-frame moves downward, andthus move the mattress-frame lon- Q gitudinally on the bed-frame andaway from the head end. The rod 14 is also so arranged and proportionedthat, as the bed-frame 5 is raised from its extended position the rod 14will travel outward in the slot 13, moving the wire mattress-frameoutward until 'thehead end of said bed-frame passes a line drawn fromits pivot to the pivot of the rod, when said rod will travel inward inthe slot and the mattress-frame will be fully drawn inward when thebed-frame reaches its perpendicular position, and thus when the bed isfolded the mattress-frame will not be extended and increase the heightof the bed. When the bed is folded or in its vertical position and themattress-frame 6 is in its normal position or fully retracted, the rodwill be in the forwarder head end of the slot 13, which end will bebelow a horizontal line drawn through the pivot of said rod, and

therefore the bed will be locked in its vertical position by said rod.It is therefore necessary before the bed-frame can be again lowered tolift the mattress-frame 6 until the rod has passed this horizontal line,when the rod will be forced outward the remainder of the way in the slotby pulling the bed-frame downward. The rod 14 also tends to prevent theaccidental folding up of the bed, as when the bed is in its extendedposition said rod is in the forward or head end of the slot 13 and anyweight on the head end of the bed-frame which would tend to turn it onits pivot would be supported to a great extent by the pivot of said rod,as the rod in this position of the parts is inclined but a little fromits perpendicular.

To obviate the necessity of raising the mattress-frame 6 each time whenthe bed is to be lowered, each side bar 12 of the mattressframe is borednward from its forward end, as shown in Fig. 5, and in each of theseholes 15 is inserted a coiled spring 16 and a plunger 17, said springengaging the bottom of the hole at one end and the end of the plunger atits opposite end and operating to hold the plunger projected through anopening in a plate 18, secured over the end of the hole. These plungersengage the upwardly-extending flange of the cross-bar 4 at the forwardend of the bed-frame, and the springs 16 therefore exert a force againstsaid flange which tends to move the mattress-frame outward or to hold itextended, and pivotally secured to the bottom flange of said cross-bar 4intermediate its ends is p a spring catch or dog 19, (shown in Fig. 6,)which when the mattressframe is retracted or in its normal positionengages the mattress-frame and holds the same in that position with thesprings 16 compressed until the latch is released by the operator.Therefore when the bed frame is turned to the vertical position thesprings 16 will hold the mattress-frame extended, and it will benecessary for the operator to force the mattress-frame ownward againstthe action of the springs until the lat 1h 19 engages the frame; but inlowering the bed it will only be necessary for the operator to touch thelatch with his foot, when the frame will be released and raised b thesprings to a position when the rod will slide outward in the slot as thebed is lowered.

In order that the mattress-frame 6 may be easily moved on the bed-frame,openings are cut at intervals in the bottom flange of the angle-barsforming the side rails 3, and rolls 20 are journaled in bearings on therails in a position to project through these openings slightly, so thatthe side bars 12 of the mattress-fra me w l rest on these rolls, and toprevent the mattress-frame from falling away from the bed-frame when thebed is raised to its vertical position clips 21, (shown in Fig. 4,) eachconsisting of a flat strip, are secured to the inner sides of the sidebar 12 of the mattress-frame and bent at right angles to project a shortdistance beneath the bottom flange of the side rail 3.

I The upwardly-extending flange of the bar 4 at the foot of the bed ispartially cut away at 22, and the lower sides of the bars 12 are cutaway at 23 to permit them to pass over the flange when themattress-frame is moved by the closing of the bed, and a headboard 24 issecured to the head of the mattress-frame to prevent the bedding, &c.,from sliding off when the bed is closed.

The foot bed end 2 is detachably secured to the bed-frame by providingthe vertical posts or legs of said end each with a casting formed with asocket 25 to-receive a conical projection 26 on an arm secured to thebed-frame, and brace-rods 27 are pivotally secured at one end to thelegs and at their opposite ends to the side rails 3. The projections 26being conical will fit into the sockets closely and firmly lock the bedend to the rails and at the same time will readily free themselves fromthe sockets when the bed-frame is lifted. As the bed is lifted the footend will be drawn toward the head by the brace-rods and held against thebed-frame thereby while the bed is in the vertical position. After thebed-frame has been raised to detach the foot end said end may be used asa lever with which to fold the bed, as shown in Fig. 2, the end beingheld at an inclination, as shown, and shoved along the floor upon itscasters inward beneath the frame, and thus very little strength isrequired to lift the bed, the springs 11 also assisting somewhat inraising the bed.

In constructions where the bedrails form the side bars of themattress-frame the device may be constructed as shown in Fig. 8, saidside rails 28 being tubularand secured together at their ends bycross-bars 29, to which the coiled-spring mattress-top is secured at itsends. The bed-frame thus formed is pivotally supported upon thecross-bar 8 of the base portion of the head bed end by sleeves 30,pivoted on said bar and through which the rails 28 move freely, the rods14 being pivoted to the forward end of said frame and to the posts ofthe head end and operating to move the rails through the sleeves as thebed is raised or lowered. A coiled spring 81 is sleeved. on each railwith one end engaging the sleeves 30 and their opposite ends engagingcollars 32, secured on the rails and exerting a force to extend theframe for the same purpose as the springs 16. Tubular casings 33 aresecured to the sleeves 30 at one end and inclose said springs to protectthe bedding.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim is 1. In afolding bed, the combination of a head end, a frame pivotally supportedupon said end near one side thereof and longitudinall y movablethereon,and a rod pivoted at one end to the frame and at its oppositeend to the head end at a point toward the side of the head end oppositethat side near which the frame is pivoted thereto and below a horizontalline 'otally supported on said base at one side thereof, a rod pivotedat one end to the base near the opposite side thereof and below theframepivot and at its opposite end to the frame at a point which will,when the frame is in its vertical position, be below a line extendinghorizontally through the point at which said rod is pivoted to the base,whereby the frame is locked in its vertical position by said rod.

3. In a folding bed, the combination of a head end havinga base portion,a frame pivotally supported on said base and longitudinally movablethereon, a rod pivoted at one end to the frame and at its opposite endto the base at a point above a horizontal line extending through thepoint at which the rod is pivoted to the frame when said frame is in itsvertical position, to lock the frame and to move the samelongitudinally, and means for raising the frame when in its verticalposition to unlock the same.

4. In a folding bed, the combination with a head end having a baseportion, of a frame pivotally supported upon said base near one end toturn to a vertical position and free to move longitudinally, a rodpivoted at its ends to the frame and base in such a manner that when theframe is raised or lowered the frame will be moved longitudinally andwhen turned to its vertical position the point at which the rod ispivoted to the frame will be below the point at which it is pivoted tothe base, springs to move the frame longitudinally in one direction, anda latch to engage the frame and hold the springs depressed.

5. In a folding bed, the combination with a head end having a baseportion, a bed-frame pivotally supported upon said base near one end toturn to a vertical position thereon, a spring mattress-frame supportedupon said frame, and means for moving said mattressframe upon thebed-frame when the bed-frame is raised or lowered.

6. In a folding bed, the combination of a head end having a base portionprovided with a transverse bar at a distance from the head end, abed-frame pivotally supported near one end upon said bar, a springmattressframe supported and longitudinally movable upon the bed-frame,rods pivoted at one end to the head end near the floor and at theiropposite ends to the mattress-frame at a point which will be nearer thefloor than the opposite ends of the rods when the frame is in thevertical position, springs exerting a force to move the mattress-frameupon the bed-frame, and a latch to lock the mattress-frame to thebed-frame.

7. In a folding bed, the combination of a head end having a base portionprovided with a transverse bar, a bed-frame pivotally supported near oneend upon said bar, a coiled spring sleeved on said bar and exerting aforce to turn the frame, a spring mattressfrarne supported upon saidbed-frame, a rod pivoted to the mattress-frame and to the head end,springs in openings in the ends of the side bars of the mattress-frameand exerting a force upon the bed-frame to move the mattress-framelongitudinally and a latch on the bed-frame to engage the mattress-frameand hold the springs compressed.

8. In a folding bed, the combination of a head end having a base portionprovided with a transverse bar at a distance from the head end, anangle-bar bed-frame pivotally supported near one end upon said bar, andprovided with slots in the flanges of its side rails, a mattress-frameupon the bed-frame provided with holes extending inward from the forwardends of its side bars, plungers in said openings engaging the bed-frame,springs in said openings engaging the plungers, a rod extending throughopenings in the mattressframe and through the slots in the bed-frame andbent at right angles and pivotally secured at its ends to the head endnear the floor, rolls on the bed-frame to support the mattressframe, adetachable foot end, means for detachably securing the detachable footend to the bed-frame, and rods pivoted to the detachable foot end and tothe side of the bed-frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GAIUS O. FULLER.

Witnesses:

O'rro F. BARTHEL, THouAs G. LONGSTAFF.

